Leave NDC out of your reasons for going to IMF – Franklin Cudjoe to Bawumia

Founding President of the IMANI Centre for Policy and Education, Franklin Cudjoe has advised the Vice President, Dr Mahamudu Bawumia, to stop blaming the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) for the country’s economic difficulties.

According to him, blaming the erstwhile NDC regime for Ghana’s return to the IMF is not prudent.

“My dear Veep, please leave the NDC out of the major reasons for the return to the IMF. It is politically and economically not prudent. A play back of your own tapes while in opposition will help reset this loud misconception”, he tweeted on Thursday.

My dear Veep, please leave the NDC out of the major reasons for the return to the IMF. It is politically and economically not prudent. A play back of your own tapes while in opposition will help reset this loud misconception.

— Franklin CUDJOE (@lordcudjoe) July 14, 2022

Franklin Cudjoe’s comments were in reaction to an assertion by the Vice President on Thursday, to the effect that Ghana’s current economic challenges are the making, partially, of the NDC.

According to him, the prevailing difficulties can be attributed to the “quadruple whammy” the government faces – excess capacity payments, banking sector crisis, Covid-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war. 

He said two of the four factors, the excess capacity payments and the banking sector crisis, were inherited from the previous administration. He made this statement in a speech at the Accra Business School.

The comment by the President has so far generated mixed reactions, with a section of the populace lambasting the Vice President for failing to take responsibility for the country’s problems.

According to the critics, it is distasteful for the Veep to rope in former President Mahama, and blame the NDC for Ghana’s return to the IMF.

In a related development, an associate professor of Economics at the University of Ghana Business School (UGBS), Professor Lord Mensah has also urged the Vice President to desist from blaming the erstwhile Mahama administration for the country’s economic woes.

According to him, he does not see the need for Dr Bawumia to travel back into the years and accuse past regimes for the difficulties confronting the citizens.

Speaking in an interview with Kojo Yankson on the Super Morning Show on Friday, Professor Mensah explained that when a new government assumes power, it automatically inherits the assets and liabilities of its predecessor.

In this regard, he stated that good economic managers are expected to convert the liabilities they inherit to profits, and therefore Dr Bawumia must stop making reference to the faults of the NDC.

“As an economic manager, you should know that before you take over, you’re coming to inherit liabilities and assets. You cannot just parade only the liabilities and indicate that this is what you inherited and therefore without it you could have been better. What about the resources that you had? What did you use them for?”, Professor Lord Mensah quizzed.

He continued: “There’s a reason why we have four years political cycle. So if within the four years, you cannot turn around things. I don’t think it’s not necessary to go back in years. I don’t think Ghanaians will be better of with these kind of references and statements coming from our economic managers”.

In his explanations, Professor Lord Mensah further emphasised that, “As an economic manager, you inherit both liabilities and assets and how you appreciate liabilities that you inherit and convert them to assets for the benefit of the country is a gauge for your performance”.

“So the reference to those two things are not necessary anyway. Not at this time. We’ve gone far. I mean we are far deeper into the years. [After] six years of handling the economy, I don’t think we need to make reference to this”, he added.

Meanwhile, JoyNews is learning that the earliest the International Monetary Fund can take a decision on whether to give Ghana a deal will be in the first quarter of 2023.

A source within the Finance Committee who was privy to conversation with the IMF told JoyNews’ Parliamentary Correspondent, Kwaku Asante, that the Fund is seriously concerned about the country’s debt position and will undertake a debt sustainability analysis before agreeing on a deal with government.

Source: Ghana News